Somewhere between the aspiration and Hollywood, is a gulf where many would-be filmmakers are lost. This blog is about recording my insights, mapping the progress and unearthing the truth along the way.

Monday, January 13, 2014

How the Crowd-funding Strategy is Evolving

Currently, it appears that trends are leading in two directions:
a) Consumers donate directly to you on your project site
b) Consumers pay for premium content on network sites

It's not even going to be an option anymore because production costs money and it's fair to ask for it so you can keep working. The question is which way to go. But if we just take a look at the traditional advance from independent acts to institutional deals I think the process is pretty obvious: you build your fan-base and production capacity to a point where a regular salary is needed rather than hoped for. At that point you move to a platform where you share in the combined proceeds with other "premium" content for greater stability and growth.

I'm curious about what starts to happen when original content has to compete with established content to grow to that point where it can enter it's more stable marketplace. It's the next and quite familiar catch-22. If we look at the physical world, musicians perform for tips on the street and might be considered as self-employed with only the guarantee of foot-traffic. On the internet there's no need to pass by your art to reach my original destination. And once I get there I'm exposed to any number of other programs I might be interested in.

So how does option a) remain valuable in the future? I hate to put it this way but I think we just have to trust the spirit of the internet and word-of-mouth. There are just too many people on it freely searching and adding and consuming for anything to really go missing or be left unheard of. And if you're doing your share of outreach and working the math properly, hopefully a regional support level is all you need to be sustained, with a global support level remaining the ideal.

Look, some people need to be paid millions to do a job and others are quite happy with affording middle-class bills through a 9-5 passion-filled work week. As the pay models evolve, so too will the production models to meet the established expectations half-way. Everyone is working toward sustainability so stay-tuned.

About Me

I've worked too many jobs growing up that had no meaning and frankly the life before film-making is all a wash. I've never been tested the way I've been tested in this practice. And it's so not over.

I'm currently graduating with a B.F.A. in Creative Writing and a minor in Film. Was a thesis film away from a 2nd major in production and I'll probably always half regret not just doing it but without a matching education in micro-budget distribution and grass roots marketing, that 5-15 grand would have been a waste and a further burden added to my already steep student loans. Time to take it on the road.